Time: 6 p.m. ET, Sunday, CBS

Players to watch
Patriots: Watch ’em all, because this is the ultimate team in the ultimate team game. Start with the quarterback who does nothing but win, Tom Brady. Watch the offensive line open holes for running back Corey Dillon. Watch receiver Troy Brown double on defense.

Jessica Rinaldi / Reuters New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady

Watch a corps of defensive backs who are so unknown they wear “Hi, My Name Is” tags in the locker room. Watch linebacker Teddy Bruschi, the heart and soul of the defense. Watch kicker Adam Vinatieri, who will not miss two field goals inside 50 yards in the last two minutes to lose the game.

Steelers: You could repeat the same things said about the Patriots, but in this case pay special attention to rookie quarterback Ben Roethlisberger, who looked very uncertain against the Jets and might be even more so against the Machiavellian defensive schemes of Pats coach Bill Belichick and his defensive coordinator, Romeo Crennel.

Andy Lyons / Getty Images Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger

The Steelers will try to pound the Pats into submission with a running game that relies on heavyweights Jerome “The Bus” Bettis and Duce Staley. Hines Ward is a top possession receiver and Antwaan Randle El is a big-time special teams returner. Wideout Plaxico Burress was barely heard from against the Jets.

The Steelers are loaded on defense, with perhaps the best linebacker corps in the league led by James Farrior and Joey Porter. But the guy who kept making the big plays that got the Steelers into the AFC championship game was strong safety Troy Polamalu, who has an uncanny ability to be at the point of attack, no matter where on the field it is.

PLAYOFF MATCHUPS Falcons-Eagles Patriots-Steelers Results, schedule

The Patriots will win if. . .
They can stop the Bus. Stuffing the Steelers running game is a tall order, but the Patriots have to do that to put the pressure on Roethlisberger, who, in the pressure of a big game, will make rookie mistakes. If New England holds Pittsburgh to about a buck and a quarter or less on the ground, they’ll be off to their third Super Bowl in four years.

The Steelers will win if. . .
They can get on the Bus. The Jets had success defensively for the first half and much of the third quarter. But the Steelers kept running Bettis at them and, when he got tuckered out, Staley until the Jets defense strained, cracked and finally crumbled under the assault. If the Steelers grind out more than 150 yards on the ground, they should win this game, probably by running it down the Patriots’ throats on the game’s final drive.

The Patriots will lose if. . .
They avoid turnovers. They’re great at taking care of the ball, but if Brady throws a couple of picks and Dillon puts it on the ground in any combination that results in a turnover ratio of minus-three or worse, the Patriots will lose.

The Steelers will lose if. . .
They can't keep it close heading into the fourth quarter. Roethlisberger is the most successful rookie quarterback we’ve seen in a long time – maybe ever. But if the Steelers allows the Patriots to get a two-touchdown lead in the fourth quarter and has to put the game in Roethlisberger’s hands, he’s not going to be able to do it against the best defensive minds in football. He can get you one score on a late drive if there’s time to mix in runs, but not two.

Prediction
The Steelers won their regular season match-up, and they did it by intercepting Brady. But this is New England’s time of year, the time they have come to count as their own, and it won’t matter that they’re playing on the road. They’re too experienced and too tough to lose this kind of game, especially with the quarterback who doesn’t do anything but win football games. Besides, I picked them at the beginning of the season to go all the way and I’m not backing out now. The Steelers had the best regular season record, but the Patriots will win this one, 17-12, and go on to Jacksonville.

PLAYOFF MATCHUPS      Falcons-Eagles Patriots-Steelers Results, schedule